Nexus
by abstract.serenity
Summary: On Ahch-To, Rey arrives to a secretive Luke Skywalker as Ren escapes the First Order, intent on exploring the power of his bond to the scavenger. There, they discover a powerful means to defeat Snoke. As forces collide, Ren and Rey must navigate their bond to bring balance to the Force and thwart a common enemy, but at what cost?
1. Chapter One: Origins

**Disclaimer:** Nothing depicted, character, settings, or otherwise, in this fiction is mine. That honour belongs to Disney and LucasFilms.

 **A/N:** A few notes before we head into the story: I'm Australian and so will be using Australian English and punctuating my speech with — ' instead of — ". Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

* * *

 **Chapter One**

 _Origins_

* * *

 _Inhale. Exhale._

Rey ascended the stone steps before her. The breeze blew icy across her exposed skin, the sensation settling in the pit of her stomach. Even with the comforting presence of Chewie carrying R2D2 behind her, her limbs weighed heavy.

Soon enough, a robed figure entered her line of vision, causing a lump formed in her throat and her grip tightened on the saber sheathed at her side. The closer she drew, the more detail she could discern the individual threads of his robes and the globs of mud that clung to the frayed ends. She noticed the figure's shoulders square beneath their robe's heavy fabric.

He knew they were here.

'Kira?' Familiarity tickled around the word.

She shook her head while drawing back the saber. 'No, I'm Rey.'

R2D2 beeped incessantly as Chewie heaved him back onto the ground to scoot up beside her. The droid's head swivelled towards hers, lights now flashing in time with its bleeping, and Rey smiled.

The droid's chatter ceased as Luke turned to her and her companions front on, eyes scrutinising. His jaw was wreathed in a grey scruff of a beard, the colour made all the more apparent by the crevices fissured over his face. No doubt existed that this man was Luke Skywalker. His face matched the hologram General Leia had gifted her before she, R2D2, and Chewie boarded the Millennium Falcon, albeit older and harsher in expression. Even so, the distrust in his blue eyes drew her shoulders together, though she kept her gaze steady upon him.

A brush of fur against her right arm and a lowered grumble in Wookiee. Several soft beeps. We're here. She managed a smile.

Chewbacca and R2D2's reassurances seemed to disarm Luke. His stance relaxed and his mouth quirked upwards, encouragement enough to prompt her approach. Once before him, she extended the saber once more. He stared at it and then her before taking it. 'Thank you.'

She breathed, and the wind flapped about their clothing. 'Did Leia send you?'

'Yes,' she said, tugging at one of her arm band. 'The First Order have risen to challenge the Resistance, and Leia thinks you're our only hope.'

Luke remained silent before sighing. He gestured behind him. 'Come. We've got much to discuss.'

He turned and motioned for her and Chewie to follow. She stood, body language hesitant, until Chewie guided her forward with a push. Shaking herself out of it, she began to jog to catch up, Chewie flanking her, only slowing to a meander when she reached a few metres behind Luke.

Each moment that ticked by marked another tally of doubt in her mind. The terrain grew more mountainous, though sprinkled with more greenery than we they had began, and the sameness of everything called her mind to other things. Kira. The echo of that name resonated, coaxing a shiver. Where had she heard it? Why the shiver? Could Luke feel her distress through the Force? His posture remained upright and firm, but she knew almost nothing about this man other than what General Organa had shared. A myth, he was, until she'd handed the saber to him. Even with the piece of the map entered in the Millennium Falcon's systems, a small part of her wondered if this was true, if in some far-fetched way, this whole experience was a kind of virtual reality someone had trapped her in. She snorted. Ridiculous. Her clothing scratching at her shoulders, the breeze's icy edge, the squeak of R2D2's wheels over stone, and Chewie's musty scent coalesced together, lingering in her senses. This, all of it, was real.

Luke stopped, jolting her from thought. She blinked a moment at her surroundings. The blackness of a cave's mouth stared out at her from a cliff face, one much steeper than others they had passed. The base of her skull tingled, the sensation then trickling down her neck. A sign of the Force, and it was strong here. Grass and other unidentifiable flora of red, orange, and purple hues framed the cave's opening, enough to obscure it from casual glances. She peered harder. A second look revealed some scuffing suggestive of someone's comings and goings.

'Through here. Follow me,' Luke said without sparing a glance behind him. He stepped forward before adding, 'Sorry, Chewie, R2D2.'

He received an annoyed half-growl from her furry companion, though it seemed to phase Luke little as he proceeded, his knees bent. She squatted and entered, sighing in contentment at the absence of outside's nipping cold. A scruff of fur and metal as well as a low grumble told her Chewie and R2D2 followed behind her.

Darkness soon submerged their surroundings as they lumbered onwards. She reached out to both sides of her, where her hands were met with stone filmed with what she guessed was dew. The feel of it hunched her shoulders. 'Yuck! The walls in here feel disgusting. How on Jakku are we meant to see in here?'

R2D2 beeped, opening a compartment on his side to reveal a rod of light.

Luke chuckled. 'You'll see. It's not much farther, I promise.'

She barely contained a snort at his reassurance, but she bit her tongue a short while later when the darkness gave way to a glow that bathed her skin in blue. Ahead, she made out the outline of Luke's robes, the saber he clutched, and ribbons of blue thrumming across the cave's stone walls, increasing the tingling across her neck. These ribbons, akin to veins, thickened as they trudged on, tying and overlapping together until they swallowed the darkness of the stone's surface. She marvelled at the near-constance of their light. They dimmed in and out in the space of three beats, a gentle thrum. Her body relaxed into a trance, her feet gliding ahead—until she smacked into the back of Luke.

A two pairs of hands steadied her. 'Careful there,' Luke said, hands disappearing once more into his robes. 'I shouldn't have stopped. It's easy to lose yourself at the sight of these. They still amaze me after all this time.'

'I-It's fine,' she said, waving it off. She turned on the spot, gaping. 'What are they?'

A pause ensued before Luke replied, 'An anomaly of this cave. I've yet to find the source of it.'

'Okay.' She nodded slowly and held her tongue.

Her vision sharpened. The passageway they had emerged from widened now into a sorry approximation of a circle with little ground space. Droids parts littered much of what space was available—a selenium drive hyper vindicator? She's have to ask him later—a clutter of what looked to be holovids, and a dirtied mattress and strewn blankets encased in a metal apparatus pressed at an angle to the rightmost side. Luke bent down and ignited a circular device, revealing a makeshift table lit by orange light amidst the disorder.

'I have to say, other than these vein-like things on the wall, this was exactly how I expected it to look.' Chewie concurred with a growl.

Luke raised an eyebrow. 'I suppose your Force sensitivity gave you the power of foresight?' He crouched, patted the ground beside for her and Chewie to sit, then placed his hands on the table. 'I'm sorry about these shoddy accomodations, but I can't say I was expecting visitors.'

She clambered down and crossed her legs. Chewie stared down at the floor and remained standing while R2D2 eased to a stop beside her. 'Don't worry. We've got more important things to talk about,' she said, placing one hand behind her.

She breathed in before regaling him with recent events. He kept his expression thoughtful when she explained her meeting Finn on Jakku, how she learned BB8 possessed the map leading here, and the events afterwards that led her to the Resistance. Her speech quickened as she spoke about the particulars of her Force vision at Maz Kanata's castle on Takodana, that his saber called to her and Maz's insistence that she take it. She shared with pride the terror she experienced while interrogated by Ren, his invasion of her mind, and of how she turned the tables and entered his, unearthing Ren's greatest fear: never being as strong as Darth Vader. When she came to speak about Han Solo, her throat ceased and tears prickled at her eyes. Images of Ren shoving his saber through his father's chest and Han plummeting into a misty abyss assaulted her, curling her fists and tightening her jaw. She lowered her head as tears dripped onto her lap.

'He fell,' came Luke's voice.

'Yes,' she managed to say despite the lump in her throat, 'and that monster did it. Stabbed him through the heart like his father meant nothing to him.'

She curled her fist and thumped the table, rattling the light at its centre. 'The only decent thing that came of that was Chewie blasting that abomination in the stomach. It was a bloody good shot.' Chewie patted her shoulder when she glanced up at him with a smirk before she glimpsed over at R2D2, who stayed stationary. When she peered over at Luke, his mouth drooped into a scowl, and her smirk slid away.

Silence sank like a blanket across the four of them, prompting her to place one hand atop the other, awaiting a response, any response.

'I never thought Han would get involved,' Luke said finally.

Rey stared at him. 'What do you mean by that?'

'I thought Han had given up completely on his son. He once shared that with me, saying it was easier for Leia if they remembered him as a child at his best.'

'And you have nothing to say about your nephew?'

'I wish I could say I'm surprised he would take up the First Order's helm as commander, but I'm not. He always needed a source of validation.'

'I couldn't care what that sod needs to feel better about himself,' she said. 'I don't know what Han told you, but he rested his hand on his son's cheek as he died. That's the action of man who hoped.'

'Then that was Leia's doing.'

'Are you saying Han didn't love his own son?'

'No, he loved Ben enough to let him go. A lost cause, his words were at the time. I didn't agree and told him as much.'

'Ben? I suppose that's Ren's real name? And Han was right the first time. Ren was… is a lost cause.'

'His former name, yes, and don't be so quick to dismiss who is worth redemption. There's still light in him. I felt it with my father despite his years of evil and now again in Ben.'

Her nostrils flared. 'To me, it sounds as if you're condoning his actions. He has murdered millions of people, injured my friends, invaded my mind, and Jakku knows what else! Exactly how close were you two for you to dismiss all of that?'

Luke's gaze upon remained steadfast. 'I'm stating objective facts. I've felt his turmoil for years. Whatever he's done is an unfortunate outcome of that. I acknowledge his wrongdoing and positive deeds equally because if I didn't, my attachment to anger and guilt would pull me to the dark side. As the only remaining Jedi, I can't afford that level of self-righteousness.'

'Self-righteousness? Are you saying I'm that? I have every right to be after what that fiend has done. One of my friends lies in a coma because of him.' She looked away in disgust. 'It sounds dangerously like you're apologising for that kind of behaviour.'

'If you choose to interpret it that way, I understand, but my duty as a Jedi is to regard every being with understanding, especially those who've strayed farthest from their intended path. My previous relationship with my nephew impacts that little.'

 _Give in. Let go._ 'But you still hid on this backwater for twenty years knowing what Ren felt? You could have done something, anything. If you had, maybe Finn wouldn't on the edge of death right now!'

Rey's words echoed in the air.

A rage of bleeps exploded from R2D2.

Growling at the robot beside him, Chewie nonetheless stretched to full height and clamped firm hands on her shoulder. The strength in the wookie's grasp cut her feet into the stone beneath her. She glowered at him but kept her hand from twitching to the staff at her back. _Calm, remember your purpose._ Seconds drifted by, draining her anger to a small pool.

She glared at the man across from her. Guilt buried in the lines of his mouth, regret furrowing his brow, and slowly, her fists unclenched and returned to her sides.

'Rey,' Luke said at last, 'I'm sorry, but even with all my regrets, there is still nothing I can change about my past actions. We need to concentrate on what we can do now.'

Her posture slumped. 'I know. I just feel so helpless.'

'I understand. I've felt the same for years about many things better left behind.'

'Then what can we do?'

'We invest in our greatest defence.' He made his way around and, as she half-turned to him, clapped a hand on her upper arm. 'Are you here for me to train you?'

'Yes,' she breathed.

'Are you willing to forfeit your former life?'

In her mind, she crossed her fingers. 'Yes.'

'To subject yourself to the conditions necessary to face my nephew, the First Order, and avenge Han?'

She set her jaw. 'Absolutely,' she said, Chewie rumbling and R2D2 rattling at her answer.

'Excellent.' He grinned, strode back around the table, and settled down into his former spot. 'Now, tell me about more this Snoke and the Order.'

* * *

Ren roused as light filtered through the crack of his eyelids. He shifted onto his side. Pain flared through his abdomen and then shoulder, his eyes watering in response. His teeth clenched as he waited for the pain to abate, and as he lay once more on his back, something coarse scratched at his skin. He knew that sensation. Sand. He hated the shit. They must be on Moraband, the homeworld, settling in one of the many bases he'd established while exploring the lost Sith empire. It was one of their best equipped, particularly the medcentre he now occupied. Clever.

The fold that concaved his stomach as he sat up caused another flare of pain, prompting him to rip back the blankets and yank up his shirt to assess the damage done. Heavy bandaging greeted his inspection. He pressed gently over the bandages and felt what he guessed were ridges of half-healed flesh. Somehow, the injury hadn't killed him, and Chewie's bow rarely left anything but fatal blows. What that was a testament to he didn't want to contemplate.

The thought of the creature embedded his fingernails into half-moons on his palms and tingled the wound on his abdomen. Where was that walking carpet? Bereft of his old companion, the girl—Rey—would be at his side. He breathed and concentrated, searching for their energies. Nothing. Wherever he was, it lied well beyond the scope of his ability to sense. Not that it mattered. The Force would call them together soon enough. It was the nature of equal but opposing powers. The dark sought as much to eclipse the light as the light endeavoured to illuminate the dark. Equals. To think: Rey, his equal. If someone several weeks ago had suggested a mere 'scavenger' would best him in combat, he'd have run them through with his saber for their ignorance. The corners of his mouth quirked.

 _Run them through with his saber._

He lifted his hand to his cheek. His fingertips grazed the scar now filmed together with slight-raised tissue. Then his hand was not his own, morphing to a more haggard version in his mind's eye. Watery blue grey eyes framed within a lined face much like his own soon appeared, twisted by fear, love. Love. His throat thickened.

His head conjured Rey. Her biceps rippled as she swung his grandfather's and uncle's saber upwards in a smooth arc. A gasp, seared tissue, _pain_. Shock when he observed her from across a widening chasm, the Force a chain between them. He felt it still. A thread of something, but what? He'd sensed its presence in the interrogation chamber, then once more in the clash of their sabers. He seized on this thread. Faint impressions of laughter, food, and names of people unknown to him tickled his awareness, joined by flashes of stone-jagged terrain and grey oceans endless, curling beneath a bitter wind. A robe weaved heavy with the ocean's same shade. The images melded into an abode littered with discarded droid parts, archaic hologram devices, and plants hoisted from the roof, framed by a modest mattress and blankets to the side. The Force pinpricked his skin. This dwelling weighed heavy with it. Then—

His uncle speaking to a tall, hairy creature. Chewie. It had to be. To his left, a rusted yet blue and white droid. R2D2. A giggle, light and melodious—feminine?—broke from his lips.

Luke's eyes snapped to him.

An indistinct voice tore him back to reality. Fists clenching, he turned to glare at whatever imbecile had disturbed him. His glare landed on an unfamiliar human male donning a First Order medic uniform.

'Yes?' Ren barked.

'A-Ah, Commander Kylo, sir, Supreme Leader Snoke requests your presence.'

He glared, and the medic shrunk back. 'That's rather hard with the extent of my wound,' he intoned. 'Why have you been sent and not either your superior or General Hux?'

'Um, G-General Hux is otherwise occupied but passed this command to my superior. She sent me to you here to relay that message and another, as well.'

'And what was that other message?'

The medic squared his shoulders. 'That Supreme Leader Snoke said, "He will train while the Force heals him".'

Ah, it was to humiliate him, then. The Force, unless wielded with intent to achieve the end, did no such thing. The thought of healing as a significant part of his training was laughable. 'Understood. You may go now.'

Ren grimaced. Some time flitted by before he glanced up to see the medic hesitating and peering back at him. His grimace turned to a scowl. 'I am fine. Return to your duties.'

So, the Supreme Leader began his training with a lesson in humility. Expected him to tear his wound with every arc of his saber, kneading his concentration for weaknesses to distract. Fail, and he became the example. Exacerbate the vulnerability to anger, to keep in line. He knew within himself that his emotional volatility left him compromised. It weakened as much as strengthened him, but the power it supplied proved superficial when it allowed outside influences to burrow into his core. No, he needed his grandfather's cold fury, the weaponisation of logic and passion, lacerating like tempered steel at all that stood in his way. Then, and maybe only then, could Snoke recognise his worthiness and prowess beyond his bloodline.

 _None of that matters. Snoke'll get rid of you when he's done_ , whispered a voice. His father.

He balled his fists and focused on pooling the rage these thoughts evoked to rise to his feet.

Snoke awaited.

The small child within him cowered at the notion, and Ren sneered.

* * *

 **A/N:** If you've made it this far, I sincerely hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's quite an accomplishment for me to have finished this at all as I haven't written for almost two years due to a lack of confidence. But then I watched Star Wars: the Force Awakens, and the inspiration writing bug swelled and dragged me under once more. So here I am.

I also know that at the movie's end, Chewie isn't actually carrying R2D2. For the story's sake, I decided to add in that little detail. How else would that gorgeous droid climb those horrid steps?

Just a note for future chapters: I will be taking liberally from the Expanded Universe. I won't say what elements, of course, for plot reasons, but I wanted to highlight this for any readers in case they catch any farts I might make with the lore. I won't lie. I'm a newbie to this universe, so please, if you notice anything, either PM me or review to let me know what I got wrong. With the extensiveness of the EU, holes in research are very likely!

Thank you again for reading. If you want to stay on, the fic should be updated fortnightly. Until next time!


	2. Chapter Two: Meetings

**A/N:** Hey guys, just letting you know the following scene occurs in the past. Thanks for NecromancerLuna for expressing her confusion and recommending I note this.

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

 _Meetings_

* * *

The minute Luke and C3PO exited Han's ship in Coruscant's Westport, Luke recalled why he avoided the planet and its Galactic City. Where once he could have navigated this crowd with relative anonymity, now the gazes of every second person in these immense crowds lingered on him, even with his Jedi robes tucked away in their minimal baggage. His civilian attire drew inspiration from decades-past fashions: a white smock with voluminous sleeves, contrasted by tight black trousers and ballooned pockets. Coruscant was nothing if not fashion-conscious, but the length of time these strangers' widened eyes loitered told him otherwise. Not that it mattered. The recognition made his mission, and thus motives, transparent, leaving him with both suspicion and leniency from most he came across. It was mostly at Han's urging that he and C3PO were here at all, though his contact had been pushing for him to visit in light of crucial intel. A drunken trivia game, Han had challenged them to, one to name the most inhabitable environments home to old Jedi Academies or temples.

Han had come prepared with a list, of course, scribed in an ancient heat-reactive ink he and Chewie had garnered during their most recent smuggling venture. 'I'm making your life easier,' he had said. 'It'll kick start that brain of yours on where to start looking for these people.'

'You always enjoy making my life easier.'

'How about lighting that halo lamp? Then I'll get to kicking your ass.'

Luke snorted as he switched on the lamp. 'We'll see.'

They exchanged a few sparring words until Han rose an eyebrow. 'Coruscant,' Han said, smirking. 'Go there, and I bet you couldn't get anywhere there without getting swamped.'

'They'll stare, and that's about it. Why don't I stake Polaris on it? It'll keep less eyes on you while you're smuggling and you and Chewie can do it in luxury.'

Han's eyes widened, and Luke surmised it had more to do with Polaris being a SoroSuub 3000, a gift from the new head of SoroSuub Corporation. An overture of reconciliation, the Sullustan had alleged. 'Deal. I wager this thing I, uh, found from some smugglers who crossed us on Nar Shaddaa,' Han said, drawing a palm-sized cube from his pocket. 'Was going to sell it to one of the senators with an interest in this kind of crap, but I figure it'll have more use for you.'

Luke plucked the object from Han's hand and held it up for inspection. It took him several beats to recognise it: a holocron. His pulse quickened.

Han rested on his chin and stared up at Luke, his expression thoughtful. 'Since you seem to be in love with that thing, I'll give you more of a challenge.' He held up four fingers.'Take the Golden Rod since he never shuts up, no hiding under those robes, you travel from the farthest port from your destination, and no flying Polaris in. We'll drop your asses off, and you can figure it out from there.'

Words of protest threatened to roll off his tongue, but Luke steeled himself at the last moment. Han's ego needed a good check, and what better way to do that than prove the bastard wrong? All while gaining lost knowledge and finding Force sensitives. He'd go visit his contact, see what they had to offer. Things were definitely in his favour, so why not? A bet was a bet, after all, and Luke was a man of his word. With these things in mind, he agreed.

And here he and C3PO now found themselves, enveloped in the roar and pong of impatient beings in their thousands. Westport's ceiling, patchworked with new steel, rose stories overhead, thinning the further Luke's gaze travelled its length. The walls themselves stretched as far as Luke could swivel his head on either side, and the buzz of incoming ships thundered in the space above despite the encroaching herd. The bobbing of countless heads obscured Luke's line of vision, prompting a huff from him even as he managed at last to spot a gateway to their right. Encouraged, Luke guided C3PO toward this exit. A group of Vodran thugs shouldered and sneered their way past he and C3PO. Some in the throng huffed while others chuckled under their breath as the two of them sniffed after the Vodrans' retreating forms. 'I swear the nerve of these crowds! If our mission were not so important, I would kindly give a piece of my mind to these barbarians.'

'Don't worry about them, C3PO.' Luke sighed, plucking and activating a small device from his pocket. A faint hologram streamed up into the air before condensing into bird's eye view of their location. 'Our contact wants to meet us at a bar on the eastern side of the city here.' He indicated a flashing spot signifying their destination, then zoomed over with a flick of his fingers to another: their current position.

'That's quite a distance. How are we meant to recognise this contact, Master Luke?'

'They'll approach us. If no one does, then we make our way to the Temple.'

He held his breath as he stepped over the Westport's threshold into Galactic City. The noise hit him first, the edges of airspeeders and other vessels slicing the air, the clicks, grumbles, and bellowing of languages flitting on the edge of understanding. Where the crowds suffocated them within Westport, thousands more choked its entrance. A flurry of arms, tentacles, and various other unidentifiable appendages shoved Luke and C3PO to and fro, grazing the bare skin of his arm as Luke's hand shot out to grasp the droid and tugged him closer to his side. He shouldered past the throng to reach the front of a designated platform where smaller taxis predominated. He peered up into the air in search of the many thousands of vehicles darting above. Despite being at the forefront of the crowd and the many faces turned towards him, passenger after passenger barged through to claim another taxi. Each driver stopping seemed too engrossed in adjusting various dials on their dashboards to care who boarded. Likely to do with their newly-instated 'free travel' passes, he supposed. No need to worry about the passengers swindling you. A good ten minutes past, with C3PO counting down the seconds so only Luke could hear, punctuated by intermittent admonishments about 'impatient simpletons'. Luke shook his head, clenched his jaw, and stomped his foot onto the next available taxi.

The driver, a Koorivar male, glanced up as Luke packed their baggage in the passenger compartment, jumped in and C3PO clambered in, leaving a pronounced scratch among a plethora of others. Even so, his expression was unperturbed. 'Watch the paint. I don't care if you're the galaxy's saviours. Where to?'

Luke, having steadied C3PO into sitting, drew a slip of paper from his trouser's pocket, its contents he had painstakingly copied from the script his contact had shown over their comms. He handed it to the driver, who grasped the paper between the tips of his talons.

He raised an eyebrow before grunting, 'Ah, I know the place. Sit back. This may take awhile.' With that, their driver propelled into the nearest sky lane, crushing C3PO and Luke hard into their seats.

Once accustomed to the speed, C3PO inclined his head towards Luke. 'What are we to do when we reach our destination?'

'We enter, sit down, order something, and wait,' Luke said and brought his arm to lean against the taxi's side, separating his index and middle fingers into a V-shape. 'The person we need to meet will signal this and come over to us.'

C3PO chattered way with their non-responsive driver, paying no heed to Luke watching instead the blur of ships, skyscrapers, and other buildings around them. The noise around him fading to a faint buzz, Luke's hands drew his halo lamp from his pocket and fiddled with an indent at its side. The smoothness of its surface did little to quell the twitching of his hands. If it were not light outside, he would switch it on. Unoriginal as it was, something about the lamp's orange hue calmed him. The City's harsh lights, blurred through the sky lane, unsettled Luke, though he could not pinpoint why. This discomfort persisted for several long minutes before their driver dug a harsh right turn and slammed to a stop. Rattled, both he and C3PO righted themselves prior to surveying their surroundings. A few dozen beings, many bereft of miscellaneous appendages, were being wheeled through and out the doors of the building in front of him. A glance at the sign above its entrance confirmed his suspicion—a medcentre. Luke frowned.

'I couldn't get much further than this because the space is too short for the vehicle here,' their driver said, pointing to just behind the bustling medcentre as Luke stepped out and helped C3PO climb out. 'The place you're looking for is around the corner there.'

Luke fought to keep his frown from deepening. _At least we're here_ , he thought. 'Well, thank you, anyway. We've both got two legs to get around there.'

Their driver shrugged, tapping his talons against the taxi's side. Each tap furrowed another knot of annoyance in Luke's brow as he heaved their belongings from the vehicle. Not that the load was much, but he thought in the back of his mind that perhaps his status would precede him enough to encourage the driver assist them or at least ask to. With how often the Korrivar flicked his unimpressed gaze back to them, he felt silly for contemplating it.

As soon as Luke hauled the last of their things onto the ground, their driver kickstarted the ship and disappeared back into the sky lane without so much as a goodbye. Luke and C3PO stood for with their mouths half-open for a few seconds until someone barged past in their haste to get to the medcentre's entrance. Swivelling in the same place, Luke caught the end of what sounded like an apology.

He sighed, tapping C3PO on the shoulder and nodding to their right. 'This way,' he said, clutching their baggage while manoeuvring and striding around the last few beings queuing into the medcentre.

C3PO huffed and trailed behind. 'I sincerely hope this venture is worth all this rudeness. I may be designed for liaison, but these people are sorely testing my programming.'

'I'm with you, C3PO. This wasn't what I was expecting.'

'In that case, Master Luke, I should hope your contact is marginally more polite.'

'They will be.'

They meandered by the medcentre's bounds into a stretch of smaller establishments, most of which teemed with patrons bereft of the finery Luke had observed elsewhere on Coruscant. The entrances to these were choked with a kaleidoscope of species, though many still towered over Luke's mere five foot, nine inches. Some, he noticed, also donned small firearms at their sides, the glinting of these under the myriad of lights flickering above betraying such. They proceeded some distance before he halted and raised himself onto tip toe to catch a glimpse of what sounded to be the only premise booming with music. The sign above its doorway was lit blue, curved into words unrecognisable to him but familiar in the same vein—it mirrored the script scribbled on the paper slipped in his pocket. Whatever tongue it was, Basic it was not.

'Have we reached our destination?' C3PO surveyed the mob at its entry. 'My, this is a strange place to situate a cantina. The sign itself is in Ubese, roughly translating to "waterhouse" in Basic. How is your contact meant to see us amongst this rabble?'

Luke bit the inside of his cheek. 'The only way to find out is to go in.'

They weaved themselves through the sparsely-populated alleyway into the bar's congested entrance. The blue sign above razored a dash of light across his wrist before it was subsumed by an orange hue the moment they crossed the bar's threshold. He glimpsed up, eyes tracing one of the wall's corner until it met its fellows at the apex of the ceiling far above them. The orange hue that now bathed them, Luke could discern now, originated from halo-like lamps, bolted to the walls on all sides. The scent of burning oil wafted through his nostrils, accompanied by the acrid tang of body odour, and he struggled not to wrinkle his nose. He glared at C3PO from the corner of his eye—without a sense of smell, the droid was spared the terror of this stench. Music, each note a fleeting resemblance of Basic, thundered through the floor and pressed into the balls of his feet, thrusting Luke into high alert. The way various patrons, even a four-armed Codru-Ji, manouevered around them proved the only reprieve.

Luke spotted a bar counter and accompanying stools as a gap emerged through the mob. Of the five he could see, just two remained, both of which a human male and his Twi'lek consort were making a beeline for. Jaw set, Luke yanked C3PO by the arm and rushed over to the last of the stools.

He and C3PO managed to heave themselves onto the stools and dump their belongings alongside just as the couple went to sit themselves. Luke bumped them both out of the way, provoking a glare from the man while his companion kept her eyes on her feet. They stayed that way for a long moment until the Twi'lek woman tugged at the man's sleeve. His gaze turned to her. Whatever passed between the two prompted one last scowl from the man before he and her stalked away.

Once the couple vanished into the expanse of bodies, Luke let go of the breath he had been holding. He placed one hand atop the other on the bar's surface, head twisted to survey the crowd for his contact's signal. From his periphery, he noticed C3PO glancing tentatively around the room, as well.

His eyes caught sight of someone making the V sign from the other side of the room. Intrigued, he trailed the line of these long, tapered fingers up to an angular, square jaw and thin lips. His gaze met hazel eyes, and their owner smiled. A woman, and a striking one at that. He found himself grinning in return and, after a moment's hesitation, cocking his head for her to approach.

She lowered her head in acquiescence and began her journey over. As she dodged other patrons, who regarded her with a mixture of awe and incredulity, Luke noticed how much she towered over the horde, and this was only emphasised more by her upright posture and high chin. Luke found himself in a bit of a trance as the space between them lessened until she sauntered past and rested against the bar counter, arms crossed.

'Luke Skywalker, one of the most recognisable gits in the galaxy right now.' The stranger chortled, her mouth quirking at one side. She offered her hand. 'Evenya, but please call me Eve.'

He raised an eyebrow at her extended hand before taking it. 'Luke, as you already guessed. Are you…?'

Her lips broadened into a grin. 'I certainly am. I know I must look and sound quite strange without the hood and voice changer.'

It was definitely his contact. 'I knew from our comms you had the accent. I just thought that, well, you were a guy,' he said, brushing the back of his head.

Eve gestured from her broad shoulders, cinched waist, and slender legs, his eyes following. 'A man I definitely am not. As for accent, I am a native in a sense, but I grew up elsewhere.' She nodded to C3PO, who had taken a seat beside Luke. 'Who is your droid friend here?'

Luke shook himself. 'Oh, right. Um, Evenya—Eve, I mean—this is C3PO, one of my droids and closest friends.'

'He's in good condition,' Eve said, appraising the droid. She lifted her hand in greeting. 'Nice to meet you.'

C3PO paused, then returned the gesture. 'Wonderful to make your acquaintance, madam.' Judging from the droid's tone, Luke supposed C3PO was taken with Eve's congeniality. The thought eased the tension threaded through him and relaxed his posture into a slump against the bar.

'Please call me Eve, if you could, C3PO.' She took a seat beside Luke. 'So, with introductions out of the way, I have here the information you're looking forward,' she said, settling herself and held up a unit-sized holopad.

Luke spun his seat to face her, holding out his hand, and she pressed the holopad firmly into his outstretched palm. 'Locations like we talked about?'

She leaned against the bar, smirking. 'Better. Expressions of interest. Many, in fact.'

'But the Temple is still undergoing repairs. How the heck did you get that and how did they know enough to, well, "express interest"?' When a few intrigued glances from fellow patrons flicked to them, he lowered his voice, 'I know you work with the Senate, but taking those files should have put you in danger.'

'You mean the imbeciles running the Senate now?' She laughed. Luke's expression remained unmoved, and her mouth lapsed into a thin line. 'I appreciate your concern, but I understand the consequences. If I didn't feel I could divert their attention, would I have liaised with you as long as I have?'

'I guess… it's just the last thing I want is them to catch you. You know, put you at risk.' Luke crossed his arms, then scratched his chin. 'Why did you choose this place, anyway? Isn't this the kind of crowd who would pass on what we're saying if the pay was right?'

'Easy, really. I own it,' Eve said, extending her arms, pride in her voice, 'and they know the moment they'd crossed me, they'd lose their heads.'

C3PO broke from his silence. 'Quite a brutal method. Surely you haven't been forced to implement it yet, madam?'

'No, I haven't, and for good reason. Most of the lot here are under my employ and paid handsomely. There's no reason for their disloyalty.'

'Madam, I wouldn't have imagined such people would know loyalty,' C3PO mused.

'Well, their loyalty is easy enough to buy with credits, but let's get back to the matter at hand.' Eve's gaze switched to Luke. 'I gained the expressions of interest when I found each individual's records and consulted them one at a time, and that was between now and last we comm'd. Mind you, they're from here, not other planets. I haven't been granted access to the records of other systems quite yet.'

Luke gave a slow shake of his head. 'That's great. Wow, I just… thank you. Everything we need is on this?' he asked, holding up the holopad between his fingers.

'Yes,' she said, beaming, 'and you're welcome.'

Luke rose from his stool, with C3PO following suit. 'If that's it, then I'll be in touch.'

'Sure. I'll endeavour to keep the hood and voice changer to a minimum next we speak, Skywalker.'

'Just call me Luke,' he said while pocketing the small device. 'You know, I didn't catch your last name.'

'It's Kenobi.'

The room stilled the second that name left her tongue. Eve tilted her head to the side, appraising him. C3PO seemed stunned into a similar state, lost for words, it seemed, for the first time. Scrutinising Eve's features further, Luke saw his late master's likeness in the slight flatness of Eve's nose and the curve of her chin, and he noticed further resemblance in the tinge of dark blonde through her shoulder-length hair and the roundness of her eyes—so much so, in fact, that he wondered why he had not caught it sooner.

'I can see it,' he murmured. 'You knew him?'

For the first time since their eyes met, Eve's self-assurance dimmed and hesitation drew her fingers towards her palms. She considered him, stance defensive, before answering, 'Yes, I knew your master, but not nearly as well as you did.'

Luke felt the question surge within him, and as Eve, half-turned, stared at him, he discarded his awkwardness.

'Why don't you come with us, Eve?' he asked.

Raising an eyebrow, she headed to leave until Luke gently caught her wrist. 'Please. It makes more sense to work together than not to. Our families kinda have a legacy going.'

She faced him once more, fingers rising to cup her chin. The music echoing around them reverberated in Luke's ear, drowning out his heart's thumping. C3PO stood in an awkward manner, once again uncharacteristically quiet.

'You're speaking sense,' she said after an age, 'though that legacy tripe was terrible.' She exhaled. 'Well, then, Skywalker, we've arrangements to make.'

Though an airy feeling eased the constriction within his chest, he schooled his features into blankness. 'Please just Luke.'

'I heard it well enough the instant you introduced yourself, but we've a legacy to upkeep, if you recall? Better to address each other by what connects us best, hmm?'

The quirk of her lips disarmed him, and he found himself shrugging and replying nonchalantly, 'If you say so.'

A ruckus erupted over towards the outermost reaches of the room, and the three of them yanked their heads around to inspect the disturbance. A Barabel cracking a glass over a Bpfasshi's head. Eve rolled her eyes. 'I'll have to deal with that. I must invest in some guards.'

She clapped a hand on Luke and C3PO's shoulder. 'Well, I'll be in contact, and I'll be joining you as soon as I've found someone to take over this claptrap while I'm away. Whereabouts would be the best to meet you?'

Luke and C3PO looked to each other. 'I'm looking for somewhere here to stay,' Luke replied. 'I could contact you when I've found a place, and we go from there.'

'Excellent. I'll alert you when I'm ready, as well. Be prepared, please. I hate people fumbling about. Have a good day, my friends.' With a wave of her hand, she skulked over and shoved herself between the brawling twosome. Luke cringed at force with which Eve separated them. A quick glance told him C3PO also stared after her.

Eve's raised voice followed them out of the bar, fading only as they made their way back to the front of the medcentre. Luckily enough, not nearly as many choked the medcentre's entrance now with the sun pinching over the skyscrapers above, allowing he and C3PO space to stroll over to where their previous driver had deposited them.

Luke raised his arm, gaze darting around in the sky lane overhead for an air taxi. 'Can't say that was what I expected her to be. Reminds me of Leia a bit. Damn, can you imagine what she's going to say when we tell her about the Kenobi thing?'

'Agreed, Master Luke. Many questions Madam Eve inspires.'

Luke felt a sudden vibration in his pocket. His comm. Only five people in the galaxy possessed the means to contact him on this one. His hand slipped from the air into pocket, withdrawing and activating it. A hologram beamed into the air above them, where Leia's distressed face materialised.

'Leia? What's wrong?' When she opened her mouth, then closed it again, his mind supplied him with the answer. 'It's Ben again, isn't it?'

'Yes,' she said, and he heard a rasp in her voice. He only ever heard that when she'd been crying. 'Han's not here, and Ben's being a damn handful.'

'And you want me to come?' She nodded. 'We'll be there as soon as we can.'

'Thank you, Luke.' Her expression lapsed. Yet, even through the hologram, the crease of worry marring her forehead did not disappear. 'Please be here as soon as you can.'

'I suppose we're departing to Dantooine, Master Luke?'

'Yeah,' Luke said, grimacing at the soreness of his raised arm. 'Whatever Ben's done, it's bad. Leia's never asked me to come before, just asked for advice.'

When an air taxi at last arrived, they lumbered in. A talkative human man was their driver this time around, and though he attempted to engage Luke in conversation, Luke's thoughts nevertheless drifted to his sister and nephew, prompting him to sense for their energies across the vast expanse separating Dantooine and Coruscant. After a moment of concentration, he felt a great disturbance in both. As C3PO prattled away with their driver in the background, Luke concluded one thing—whatever awaited he and C3PO on Dantooine promised trouble.

* * *

The release and resounding _clap_ of the door behind him eased relief through Ren, As he limped forward, the material of his bandages chaffed at his wound, pulling his posture downward. _Not now_. He scrunched every ounce of pain flaring through him and gathered the Force. He stood with a slight hunch, the agony ferrying him forward.

He reached for the Force once more to discern his master's direction. A strand individuated from the ether, yanking his consciousness towards the familiar, yet immense and foreboding energy, and his body followed its thrall. He separated his mind just enough to maintain awareness of his surroundings while grasping the strand enough to know his destination.

The scenery, visible through the windows spotted intermittently on the walls, merged into a sea of red-tinged dunes as he hobbled by. He recognised it. Ah, so they were on Moraband. No mistaking the outline and hues of that sand. Sighing, he brought his attention back to his master's energy. A breeze grazed over his cheeks from the vents above and The Force prickled against his skin, steeling himself. Had he not been concentrating, the Force would have creeped over him like the trickling of sand through the hourglass, enveloping him in the same manner it did everything else on this planet. Many stormtroopers marched by and nodded to him. They failed to skitter about and bow as they did when they otherwise encountered him. He scowled, and they continued about their duties without so much as a flinch, mocking him, it seemed, because of his current incapacitation. Everyone was mocking him. He ground his teeth, and his concentration waned, the Force rushing through him enough to raise the hair on his forearms.

Some time later, he lumbered to a stop in front of a small door, his side aching, hitching his breath. He gathered himself, then fumbled revealed an old-fashioned keypad behind metal compartment. Its design was an afterthought from memory, and apparently, Hux's personnel had failed to update it since the base's founding. _Of course_. He punched in the appropriate number sequence. Ren bit his lip against the annoyance the thought provoked when the door slammed open. Moulding his face into an neutral mask, he stood at full height despite the protest of his wound and proceeded forward.

Rather than the hologram he expected, Snoke stood in person. Shadows shrouded the left half of his master's face while light illuminated the right, with the one eye visible razored with calm fury. Ren battled against the chill the sight elicited within him and focused instead on approaching without conveying his unease. Yet, like in the halls there on his journey, the Force smacked into Ren as he halted just a few feet away from his master, who stood inches below Ren's height.

'Supreme Leader, y-you're here,' he said, internally cursing his stutter.

'Yes, Kylo Ren. I have been for some time.'

'I apologise for my recent indisposition. The girl—'

'Defeated you after you knocked unconscious FN-2187.' Snoke raised his chin when he saw Ren swallow. 'I'm aware. Hux informed me as much.'

Of course Hux had. Ren stepped forward, arms outstretched. 'Supreme Leader, I cannot say how she defeated me, but the girl is immensely gifted with the Force, a prodigy, and the quickest study I have come across. She would be an unparalleled addition to our ranks.' The fierceness of her eyes under their clashing sabers conjured unbidden in his mind. He shook his head.

'With that, I agree. Whoever this girl is, she's no mere scavenger,' Snoke said, waving a dismissive hand, 'but that fails to excuse your utter defeat at her hands. I know you feel drawn to the girl beyond mere fascination, and I've sensed that is the source of the weakness I spoke of in our lasting meeting.'

He fought to not take up a defensive stance. 'No, Supreme Leader, you're mistaken—'

'I'm _mistaken?_ No, my foolish apprentice, I see it in your consciousness as we speak. I will concede her eyes are fetching under the clashing of your sabers.'

Ren's hands shook, and noticing this, he clasped them in tight grip behind his back. Snoke sneered. 'I also know you've had that same thought.'

His silence condemned him more than his stillness, but he nonetheless maintained eye contact with his master.

'Yet I believe your fascination can be put to good use. You'd be more sensitive to her energy even across vast distances in the galaxy.'

Ren nodded slowly. 'That might be. What are you proposing, Supreme Leader?'

'Reports have filtered in that your scavenger, a droid, and your father's Wookiee creature have left to find for your uncle.' Snoke stepped towards him, and all that Ren smelt were the scents of rot and fire. 'It's likely they have located him already, so you will go forth alone and retrieve the girl. Kill the others.'

Ren bit the inside of his cheek. What were his master's designs for the girl? 'Understood.'

'At least your hearing need not be checked in light of your current injuries. You will need to be healed, and that will take some time.' Ren heard the implication— _we will not bear the cross of your weakness._

Ren's scar pulsed. A pause. 'What of my training, then, Supreme Leader?'

'Ah, of course.' Snoke drew something from his robes. When the object was exposed to the light, Ren realised it was a hilt of a saber— _his_ saber. Lightness seeped into his limbs. His master extended it to him, base first, and Ren grasped it in haste.

He bowed while gripping his saber, wincing at the stab of pain that shot across his abdomen. 'Thank you, Supreme Leader. May I ask how the Order retrieved and restored it from Starkiller?'

'We did not. The original remains destroyed,' Snoke said, peering down his nose at Ren. 'Our engineers, however, found your original plans and built a replica with added modifications.'

Anger and protectiveness crept through him. What else had those cretins searched, interfered with? 'What modifications are these?' he asked, struggling to keep the edge from his voice.

His master's tone told him he knew Ren's feelings on the matter. 'They changed the kyber crystal for another, one I stored away myself, so it will be far more stable than your previous version. The flaring out of you favoured will no longer happen unless you yourself crack the kyber crystal.'

'Supreme Leader, thank you. I… I do not deserve this kindness.' Encouraged by Snoke's gifting of the replica, Ren gathered his resolve. 'If I may ask, do you intend to teach her, make her an apprentice? I will teach her if so. I know her strengths and would be able to discern her weaknesses, to shape her as you have me.'

'You doubt my intentions and abilities, then?' his master said, the words as light as the saber replica in Ren's grasp. 'Perhaps a demonstration is in order.'

The Supreme Leader raised his hand, and as Ren's lips separated to speak, the Force perforated his head. He crashed to his knees, both hands clutched to his head. His lungs seized, strangling his shrieks to muted squawks. The pressure at the front and back of his skull until he heard a crack splinter at one of his temples. The compression spiked, spots scattering over his vision.

'You may be forged from the light and the dark, but remember who recognised that and moulded your potential. I will not tolerate insolence, even from you, Kylo Ren,' his master whispered. Those were the last words that reached Ren's ears before his mind plummeted into oblivion.

* * *

Across the galaxy, something gnawed at Rey's skull. Screams pierced her hearing first, then roared into her mind and shot tendrils of pain over her back and into the base of her spin. The screams spiralled to a peak until they faded into silence and jolted her back to reality so hard her lungs fought for breath. Her hands fumbled to where the back of her head still pulsed. Nothing. Just the roots of oily hair not washed in days and slight dandruff. Shaken, Rey focused again on her breathing. Soon enough, her inhales and exhales came evenly, and she became aware of the ways the stones jutting through her pants pinched at the skin beneath. Eventually, the feeling dissipated, her vision cleared, and she found herself looking into her master's face.

'Did you feel that?' she whispered, shifting herself into a more comfortable position on the rocky floor.

'I felt your reaction before I saw it,' he replied.

'I've never felt anything like it. It was like someone seized my head in a vice and dug it further and further into the back of my skull. I-I couldn't breathe, and I heard someone—a man, I think—screaming.' She cupped her hands over her face. 'Please tell me the Force can't do that.'

The thrum of her heartbeat in her ears almost swallowed his response. 'It can.'

She gaped. 'How?'

'It's in how strongly one combines their mental will with their physical strength. The stronger both attributes, the greater the power of whatever one applies it to.' He tapped his temple. 'That can include the head.'

'You speak as if you've experienced it.'

'Perhaps.' He folded his arms.

She waited for him to elaborate, but he stayed unforthcoming. Instead of annoyance needling at her, her muscles protested their weariness when she straightened her back, accompanied her eyelids threatening to thread with her bottom lashes.

'I need sleep,' she said, movements slow as she stood. 'Thank you for teaching me today.'

'Of course, Rey.' She felt tempted to turn back and interrogate, but she also thirsted for space, solitude. His voice would not sound that heavy, after all, unless something akin to deceit gave it such weight.

She half-turned towards him, gave a half-hearted smile, and lumbered away to sink into her bed in the Millennium Falcon.

* * *

 **A/N:** I know, I know—most readers dislike original characters and understandably so in most cases. However, for the sake of my story, Eve's addition to the plot is integral. She also may not be as removed from canon characters as you might think.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. The next one will be due out in the next fortnight, so until then, I hope you enjoy what's here. :)


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